We have witnessed unprecedented aggression in the centre of Sofia, Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov said at a briefing. Only a timely reaction prevented this from having casualties, he said, adding that he was surprised that he was being asked to resign.
On Friday morning, Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria demanded the resignations of both Minister Stoyanov and the leadership of the Bulgarian Football Union (BFU), and as one of the reasons for this they pointed to the allowed escalation of tension at Thursday's protest in front of the National Stadium "Vasil Levski", while the national teams of Bulgaria and Hungary were playing a match to no audience.
Stoyanov pointed out that if he resigned, he would be betraying all his colleagues who were at work last night.
"I do not think a minister should be a scapegoat for the long-standing problems in the Bulgarian Football Union," Stoyanov said.
According to him, the actions that were taken by the Police and Gendarmerie were reciprocal to the aggression by extreme fans, whose aim was definitely to blood the protest. The minister stands behind all the officers who last night, at the risk of their lives, prevented "something much more serious".
Sofia Police Chief Lyubomir Nikolov said that more than 30 people at Thursday’s protests had criminal records. The perpetrator of last night's bus arson has been identified, Nikolov informed. He said that a total of six reports have been initiated regarding identified cases where it can be alleged that police officers possibly had physical contact with citizens at the protest. Information on the action taken against them would be given in less than a month, the Interior Ministry said. It assured that all those detained yesterday were still in the Interior Ministry's subdivisions and were being processed.
/MY/
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